New pub by Lucky Saint: March opening

Lucky Saint, the UK’s leading independent alcohol-free beer, is set to open a ‘moderation pub’ in London to mark Dry-January. This major step into the hospitality sector speaks to the rapidly changing drinking culture in the UK.

There is a growing demographic of ‘moderation’ drinkers in the UK – with research earlier this year showing that 1 in 3 pub visits are alcohol-free. In fact, the UK’s largest recent study of drinking behaviours showed that 16-to-25-year-olds were the most likely to be teetotal. Lucky Saint’s mission is to provide a hub to match this changing landscape in the UK and reward those not drinking with the beer they deserve.

This year Lucky Saint is forecasting the biggest Dry January to date, predicting a rise in their sales of over 100% and an increase in Dry Jan participation of 25% to over 10 million people.

The expansion into the hospitality sector comes off the back of securing a +£10 million Series A funding round, led by consumer and technology growth investor, Beringea, and the fund of innocent smoothie’s founders, JamJar Investments. The round is the largest ever raised by an alcohol-free beer brand in Europe.

The record investment will allow Lucky Saint to consolidate its position as the UK’s largest independent alcohol-free beer, accelerating the distribution of its draught offering and kick-starting planned expansion into Europe.

Luke Boase, founder, and CEO of Lucky Saint said:

“This is a big moment for Lucky Saint. This latest investment and pub opening will ensure further success for the company in the UK and help us build a globally recognised alcohol-free brand. We all know JamJar’s track record in supporting and driving great consumer brands, and with Innocent as their story, we know we’ve got an exceptional team behind us.

Over half of the UK want to moderate their alcohol consumption. More people than ever before are looking for a great-tasting alcohol-free beer. We’ve become the category leader, and the UK largest independent alcohol-free brand, because we’ve been totally focused on quality. It will remain at the heart of everything we do as we continue our very ambitious growth plans.

We feel we’ve just scratched the surface of this opportunity. This investment will kickstart our launch into European markets and put more Lucky Saint in pubs up and down the UK. And with 1 in 3 pub visits now alcohol-free, we are unbelievably excited that our own pub and brand HQ is launching in central London where it all began 4 years ago. It’ll be a chance to showcase the Great British pub and our amazing industry.”

Founded by Luke Boase in 2018, the company has seen revenue sales growth of 180% year-on-year since launching. Lucky Saint is now available in 5000 pubs, bars, and restaurants (including over 60 Michelin-starred venues), as well as major retailers such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado, Marks & Spencer and Majestic.